


His luck

by Houseofmalfoy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Muggle, Alternate Universe - Photographer, Bisexual Remus Lupin, F/M, Trans Female Character, augustus rookwood - Freeform, model narcissa, photographer remus, rodolphus lestrange - Freeform, rodolphus lestrange/augustus rookwood - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22229227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Houseofmalfoy/pseuds/Houseofmalfoy
Summary: Modern setting, model/photographer AU for Remus Lupin and Narcissa Black. Written for the Remus Lupin fest 2020.
Relationships: Remus Lupin/Narcissa Black Malfoy, Rodolphus Lestrange & Narcissa Black Malfoy
Comments: 7
Kudos: 30
Collections: Remus Lupin Fest 2020





	His luck

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to @engorgio on tumblr for beta'ing this for me!
> 
> My prompt was: "Modern AU, Model/Photographer or hairstylist, make-up artist etc. They always enjoy working together and go out for a drink after a shoot some day or something."

Remus was excited for today’s shoot. 

He’d been doing freelance photography for two years now, outside of his day job at a local bookstore, and more often than not that meant that people approached him for projects or portfolios that they had in mind. He loved doing it and it paid well enough, but today was different. 

He’d come up with the idea for a project like this months ago. It had cost money, money that he didn’t easily have on hand, but as a birthday present his friends had come together and given enough that he could supply the left over amount. Remus smiled at the thought of it while packing his bag. 

A series of fantasy photography, asking only LGBTQ models to model for him. Remus had only recently, at the time, come to terms with possibly being bisexual himself, and it felt good albeit nervewracking to try to incorporate that part of himself into his art. 

He’d discussed it with Sirius and Lily in depth over the past few months. He wanted to do this right, get it right, and maybe that was part of the reason he was so nervous about how this would eventually turn out. Remus tried to shrug the thought off. 

He liked fantasy, he always had, and when using fantasy elements in his photography he revelled in being able to get so creative with it. Costumes and make-up, outdoor settings and props, and then the editing process afterwards to finish it all up. Remus grinned, putting his laptop and charger in his bag just in case. 

He didn’t always bring his laptop along when shooting outside of the studio, that he’d created in the flat he shared with Peter, as he didn’t often stay much longer than the actual photography part. Remus would see the pictures at home and send either raw files or edited pictures to his clients. 

Today his first model of the project was Narcissa Black, and he knew her well enough to guess that he’d be hanging out with her after the shoot as well. They’d been working on ideas for the pictures for two weeks now, having met for coffee once and bouncing ideas off each other through texts. They got along quite well. 

Narcissa Black. A cousin of one of his best friends, which given Sirius’ history with his family had surprised him more than just a little when he first found out he and Narcissa were actually relatively close. 

He knew Narcissa wasn’t like Sirius and Andromeda, who’d openly and repeatedly defied the pure bigotry of their family, but the more he’d looked into her the more fascinated Remus had become. A lot of her life was online, he didn’t think he could be blamed that he’d done some research out of curiosity.

One of the three daughters of Cygnus Black, and if the bits she’d told him through text messages and face times was anything to go by, by far the man’s favourite. Remus talked about how much he loved his mother about as much as she talked about her father. 

Sirius had asked her for this project, and Remus wasn’t sure exactly what he’d told her or how he’d managed it, but she was more than willing to give him her time for free. She modelled a lot, he’d spend a lot of time looking through her instagram and the various photographers she’d worked with for inspiration. She was  _ good _ . 

Part of him was thrilled that the first person he’d be working with for this personal project was someone rather well known and loved. Remus figured it’d draw some attention to him and his work. Still, he was even more thrilled that Narcissa had seemed genuinely excited over his project when they’d discussed it. 

He was confident about his ideas either way, but it didn’t hurt to realise others liked them just as much.

oOo

When Remus entered the coffee shop, Narcissa was already there and she smiled when she spotted him in the small crowd. 

They fell into a conversation easily. He brought up some of the ideas he had for pictures he wanted to take of her, and she made sure to capture the two of them for her instagram story while he blushed at the camera of her phone being directed at him. Remus much preferred being on the other end of a lens. 

“I’m repeating myself here, but I do appreciate you doing this for free,” he blushed when Narcissa rolled her eyes good-naturedly at him. He’d told her before, after all. 

“You have said it before, and I’m certain you’ll tell me again today. A few times.” She chuckled, throwing her hair over her shoulder as she did. “I told you, when Sirius explained your vision to me I was sold. You’re a friend of his, your ideas are creative, and I’ve looked at your work. You’re really good, Remus.”

It shouldn’t have made him blush to be complimented by her, but it did. Remus chuckled, slightly nervous. 

“I loved the interview you did the other day, by the way,” he told her, and he smiled when her face lit up at that. 

“You read the whole thing?”   
“Naturally.”

Narcissa smiled at him. “Is it cliche to say that I was surprised they asked me?”

“Just a little,” he told her, laughing. 

“Well I was,” she insisted, playfully pushing him away when he just laughed more.

Remus had read the interview, of course. The Quibbler had done it with her, focusing mostly on the background of her family and her own experiences as a transgender model. It had been an interesting read, in his opinion, but it was funny to hear her talk about it like this.

“Surprised as you were, you were pretty great,” he offers her with a kind smile that she returns brightly. 

“That’s good to hear, actually. Thank you.”

They talked for a while longer while he showed her pictures and sketches of ideas he had for future shoots in this same project, and even let her order them another round of coffee. There was time enough for the shoot, in any case, and talking to Narcissa was surprisingly comfortable. 

“So, you’ve settled on the location for certain now?” She asked him eventually, and the teasing tone in her voice was only pretend, comfortable joking between friends. He’d gone back and forth between two places so often in the past days, it was a fair comment. 

“Oh no, I was planning to flip a coin in the car.” 

Narcissa rolled her eyes, but she was laughing when they got up and left the cafe.

oOo

After they arrived at the location, he helped her with the make-up according to the colours they’d settled on together. Remus laughed when they both struggled with putting on the pointed ears just right. It was easy to get them on, but they had to stick up the right way and stay put when she moved. It proved a whole lot more difficult than they’d anticipated.

Thank god they could laugh about it. He was only blushing a little when she looked up at him with that laughter in her eyes. She was beautiful.

Narcissa stepped out of the make-shift changing room they’d tried to make behind Remus’ car, her outfit put together entirely. He could only describe her as gorgeous, there was really no other word for how alluring she looked. 

Dressed in expensive looking robes that were a little see through but not too much, matching the enchanting blue of her eyes perfectly; matching make-up and bits of body paint tracing patterns across her exposed arms. Narcissa looked nothing short of magical. 

Her black and white hair fell over her shoulders in gentle waves, not enough to hide the pointed ears they’d struggled with, and when she smiled at him Remus could only grin stupidly. “You- eh, you look great...”

Narcissa chuckled as if she hadn’t noticed his nerves. Perhaps she attributed them to the start of his project. 

“Where do you want me?”   
“What? OH, right-”

Remus blushed, and when she caught on as to why he did, she laughed. Didn’t she ever get flustered? He couldn’t imagine it. He grinned, chuckling nervously. “Near the river, between the tall grass first?”

Narcissa was talented.

It looked as if the moment she stepped in front of the camera, she knew exactly what to do and when to do it. Remus barely had to direct her at all, except when it came to certain images he had in his mind already. 

While talking to her earlier, Narcissa had not come across so much as the wealthy and cold heiress Sirius had made her out to be years before. It slipped through, occasionally, with certain movements and a strike of defensiveness when he said the wrong thing, but it seemed to Remus that for the most part she had changed.

In front of the camera, though, it was blatantly obvious where she came from. It was clear how she had been raised. 

Her poses were carefully considered, no doubt, but they appeared to come naturally nonetheless. They made her look threateningly beautiful; intimidating in a way that suggested she was better than whoever was watching; desirable but distant. That had to be the heiress in her, Remus assumed. 

It worked for her. The photographs he took of Narcissa were beautiful, if he could say so himself, and he smiled to see that they showed exactly the image she had been trying to convey. 

He was proud of his work, and she smiled encouragingly at him when she noticed. 

That much for the heiress. 

oOo

“It’s late- so I totally get if you don’t— but maybe you’d,” Remus stopped talking, flustered to the point where his cheeks were burning, and Narcissa raised one eyebrow at him curiously; teasingly as if she knew exactly what he was planning to ask. 

“Would you like to get a drink with me? There’s a pub not far from here… There’s this project I’ve been talking about with a friend, Lily, maybe you know her? I don’t want to assume! But you might be- might be interested?”

Narcissa’s clear blue eyes were shining when she chuckled at his rambling and flung the bag that now held her just-as-blue costume in it over her shoulder. “I won’t say no to a drink, Remus. Lead the way.”

oOo

In the end, the project he was considering with Lily was barely brought up. 

Narcissa bought them a first round of drinks and they clinked their glasses with a smile on both their faces. They started out on the project, sure, but he hadn’t finished his first drink or the conversation had shifted to the one mutual friend they had. 

“I hadn’t been aware Sirius was still in contact with- any of you, really. Except Andy, of course.”   
“He’s been keeping me a secret? How unkind of him.”

Narcissa sounded aloof, the way she was playing with the rim of her glass absentmindedly making it look like she either did not care at all, or cared more than she’d prefer. “We stopped speaking for years after. We have only recently, for the past nine months or so, made an attempt at re-establishing what we once had.”

“Which was?” He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, but she didn’t look like she was and Remus was so dreadfully curious about this all. Sirius didn’t talk about it much, not at all, but from the bits and pieces he had mentioned of the Black family it was clear that it was no easy predicament to be born into it. 

Not everything about being an heiress came without a price, then.

“We were close, as children. Close in age, similar futures written in the stars for us and all. Great responsibilities, which were nice to share with someone else.”

She sounded less aloof, now. Colder. Narcissa continued without waiting for Remus to respond. “Sirius left. I did not. We’ve only recently begun to forgive one another for those choices.”

He wanted to ask more, wanted to know so much more about everything that had happened between his best friend and this beautiful woman he wanted to get to know better. Narcissa gave him a look that told him to shut up instead, and he obeyed. 

"This Lily, you live with her right?" Narcissa asked, and after a while she ordered them more drinks. Part of remus wanted to feel bad for having her pay. 

"Yeah, together with Peter. It gets expensive…" he answered with a shrug, blushing a little. Expenses hadn't seemed to have crossed Narcissa's mind as much, because she looked mildly surprised. "How about you?"

"I have a flat in the city centre, I share it with Rodolphus. In theory it's just the two of us, but at this point it feels like Augustus, his boyfriend, has moved in as well. He just hasn't sold his own place yet."

She didn't seem annoyed at it in the slightest. "Not money related, I assume?" Remus asked, smiling. Narcissa shook her head.

"It just gets lonely, living all alone. Dolphus and I have been friends for twenty years already, it only made sense." She took a sip from her cocktail, readjusting her hair when she put the glass down. 

Remus envied her a little, for her lack of concern about money, but he didn't mention it again. It wasn't her fault, either. He did recognise that loneliness, too. 

"I understand," he responded, smiling kindly. "After Benjy and I broke up, I lived in our old apartment for a while. Too much rent, but it's just no fun either after a while is it?"

"Exactly," Narcissa agreed. “I’ve never lived all alone, I don’t think so. Even after both my sisters moved out, it was just father and I, and then Rodolphus. I don’t think I would enjoy it on my own.”

"Just your father? What happened to your mother?" Remus asked before he realised she might not want to talk about it. "If you're comfortable sharing, of course." He added hurriedly.

Narcissa chuckled, but her eyes lost a bit of that sparkle from earlier. "It's no matter. Mother… Was quite like how I assume Sirius has described our family. She never quite agreed with me being trans, and eventually father got fed up with- with how she showed that. They got a divorce when I was eighteen. Quite a scandal in our community." She was smiling, albeit almost sadly, as she spoke and as interested as Remus was he felt bad for bringing it up.

"I'm sorry," he told her, sincerely.

Narcissa shook her head. "That divorce is the best thing that's happened to our family in quite some time. Father distanced us even from our aunt and uncle. In any case, mother never would have agreed with my modeling, either. It'd have been a waste of time to her. And then who would you have chosen?"

Now she looked at him with a teasing grin and Remus chuckled sheepishly as he looked at her and ducked his head slightly. "Without you? Where would I have started… no one matches your beauty, or skill."

Exaggeration, and she knew it, but that hardly mattered when they both laughed and Narcissa took another sip of her drink. "Naturally." Was all she said, but her eyes stayed trained on his for a while longer. 

She had beautiful eyes, Remus noticed once more. Such vivid, light blue like the summer's sky, right now sparkling with joy and excitement. He kind of wanted to kiss her.

He didn't kiss her. 

“So, modeling is just for fun? You don’t need the money?” Remus looked at her curiously when he asked, and she nodded. It looked like she enjoyed being asked about her career, he noted with a smile. 

“Just for fun. The money is a bonus. We don’t really need a career for a living — that sounds ridiculously spoiled, doesn’t it? I just mean- my father’s business, he has a law firm, plus the old money in the family… It’s unnecessary. So why not do something I love?”

Remus had to admit it did sound spoiled, but at least she seemed aware of how lucky she was, he figured. If he could quit his day job, if he had the means to only do his own projects and only take on jobs he felt like doing… He didn’t think he’d have refused. “Just a little,” he told her, grinning. “Are you expected to take over the firm, in the future?”

Narcissa shook her head in response. “That’ll be Bella’s responsibility, eventually. I already have a share in the company, naturally, we all do, but as the oldest it will be hers earlier. Though admittedly that might very well mean she makes the money while having someone else run everything.”

What a life that must be, Remus thought to himself. He didn’t hate his job at the local bookshop, not at all, but part of him was still envious that there were people who didn’t need a job like that at all, and never would. 

He knew Sirius had come from wealth, but he’d left it when he left the family. He’d certainly never mentioned just how rich his family had been. 

“Sorry, that must sound so arrogant,” Narcissa added, making him realise he hadn’t actually answered her. He shook his head quickly. 

“It’s fine, I’m just not used to it, I guess.” That was an understatement. Remus grinned at her though, hopefully letting her know it was all good. “Your friend, Rodolphus was it? He’s the same?”

“He is, though he is much more involved in his father’s business than I.” Narcissa’s eyes lit up when she talked of her friend, and Remus smiled. They must be close. “Half the time he’s not actually in our flat, but he and Augustus take to the house in the countryside. The business is horses, you see. They have magnificent breeding stables. He’s quite talented with them. He has a tattoo parlor, too. Very exclusive, mostly because he can’t be bothered to actually make it a full time job. He gave me those daffodils you were admiring earlier.” When Remus blushed furiously at that, she laughed. “Not that I noticed, of course.”

Did she just wink at him?

He had noticed, how could he not? He hadn’t quite realised they were daffodils, as the vaguely see through fabric had really just shown the black ink against her hips. But Remus had noticed and it turns out he hadn’t been as subtle as he hoped he’d been. 

He hadn’t been staring, either, he’d just noticed. They looked good on her. 

“Daffodils, huh?” He asked instead, glad to feel his cheeks losing some of the heat when she ordered a plate of chips to share as if nothing had happened. “Why daffo- right, never mind.” 

Remus grinned sheepishly when she laughed and nodded at his realisation. Of course, it was obvious. “The myth?” 

“Naturally.” Narcissa told him, chuckling. “Mother was livid it wasn’t a star like the rest, but it’s beautiful is it not? Rodolphus did the piece for my eighteenth birthday.”

“Do you have more?”   
“Not that kind of person. I love these though.”

He laughed. “They look brilliant on you, too.”

“I’m well aware.”

There was something contagious about the confidence that Narcissa seemed to radiate so easily, like it took her no effort at all to sit there and look as beautiful as she did. She knew exactly how good she looked, and it didn’t feel like she ever had reason to doubt it. 

Remus wasn’t exactly jealous of her for it, not really, but he was more than a little impressed, and even more so intrigued. 

She looked magical, just as she had done during the shoot, even without the outfit and makeup and well thought out poses. Gorgeous, there was no other way to put it. 

Remus was staring at her, a wide smile on his face while they shared chips and she grinned at him when she caught his gaze, raising one of her eyebrows playfully. 

“You’re not as subtle as you were when trying to see the tattoo, you know,” Narcissa told him and a blush rose to his cheeks immediately. She laughed when she noticed and that made it feel less embarrassing. She didn’t seem to mind at all. 

He could’ve sworn she moved closer to him at the same moment their hands brushed together reaching for the chips, and Remus wished he could borrow some of that effortless confidence Narcissa carried herself with. 

There was some glittery blue make-up just above her jawline, nearly hidden away in her hair, that sparkled when she moved her head just right and the light caught it. He wouldn’t have seen it if she hadn’t been as close as she was now, and Remus’ eyes fixated on it.

“It’s getting late, I suppose,” she began, catching his eyes with a smirk. He only blushed more. “Accompany me home?”

Thank God for Narcissa’s confidence. 

oOo

When they got out of the taxi, Remus felt both nervous and a little silly walking her the short way it was to the front door of her building. What if he had misread everything thus far? If she was just going tell him goodnight and go inside and he was the fool that paid for a taxi just watch it happen?

It was a stupid thought, no doubt. Even though there hadn’t been a direct question from either of them, she had been the one to ask if he wanted to accompany her home. 

Could she have meant just that? Accompany? Nothing more?

Narcissa caught his eyes and he smiled when he saw how hers were sparkling. Could she be more beautiful? “I’m afraid we might be out of scotch, but there’s wine if that’ll do? It’s a good year.” She asked him when she unlocked the door and waited for the lift to come. 

A good year. Remus never paid attention to the year of a bottle of wine, just the price and if it didn’t cross his budget. He nodded, blushing a little. “Yeah, that’s great.”

Inside her flat it was empty save for two dark grey cats that had nestled themselves on opposite ends of an L shaped couch. 

Her flat looked to be three times the size of the one he shared with Lily and Peter. If not more. Remus wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or envious. 

“Your friends aren’t here?” He asked, and she raised an eyebrow at him with a teasing smirk. Remus blushed. “Not why I’m asking… Just curious,” he stammered out. 

Narcissa chuckled and handed him a glass of wine. “They are not, though I don’t know where they could be . We’re alone.”

They talked about nothing for a short while longer, but where the lingering gazes and hands brushing against each other had been easier to ignore in the crowded pub, they now drove Remus wild bit by bit. Quicker than he’d have liked to admit. 

At some point, his glass was empty and Narcissa reached to take it off his hands, her own glass already having been put down on the counter again. 

She was closer to him, leaning into him, her hair was falling over her shoulders and there was still that same bit of sparkling blue makeup just below her ear that made her eyes (that shined just as much as the makeup) seem all the more enchanting. 

There really wasn’t anything else he could think of doing when she looked like that. So beautiful, so inviting, so close.

Remus kissed her. 

How could he not have?

Thank god she kissed him back.

She tasted like the wine they had shared. Narcissa had told him it was a good year, hadn’t she? But Remus was quite sure any drink at all would’ve been this good if he’d tasted it on her lips. 

It was easy, too easy, to melt into Narcissa’s kiss. Remus wrapped his arms around her, laying one of his hands on her hips, 

Narcissa’s arms were around his neck, her form pressed against him and his free hand easily found its way to her hair. He practically melted into her, much to his own surprise, and when she grinned against his mouth he parted his own, tracing her lips with his tongue. 

She chuckled against him, parting her lips as she kissed him again with open mouth; just as captivating, if not more. 

If he’d been told at the beginning of that day that this was how the job was going to end, Remus would have shaken his head at the mere thought of it. He wasn’t the type to go home with anyone after just a day, but then he supposed he’d known Narcissa before today already. 

They’d been talking for a few weeks before officially meeting up today, and they’d seen each other before today as well, if only for short amounts of time. They hadn’t talked like they had today, though, barely had brought up anything that wasn’t directly related to the project they were working on. 

Talking to Narcissa had made her only more appealing, only more interesting. He hadn’t realised how quickly she’d become so desirable to him. 

Remus also couldn’t quite believe he actually found himself in this position, when after a little while longer he felt her teasingly rub her leg against his trousers where he’d gotten hard already. 

“Do you want to go further?” Narcissa asked, parting from him just enough to whisper her question. She met his eyes with a playful smirk when he nodded eagerly and reached for his hand, a confident swing in her step when she began leading him to what he could only guess was her bedroom.

oOo

Narcissa was in the shower when he entered the living room of her flat the following morning. Remus was wearing a bathrobe she’d left out for him, yawning when he walked into the room to find coffee ready on the table and a guy whose exposed arms were covered partly in tattoos — he guessed the roommate Narcissa had told him about — in the corner of the couch. 

“Good morning,” he brought out awkwardly, instinctively reaching up to his hair to check if it was as big a mess as he fears it is. The guy chuckled when he looked up, but almost immediately looked back at the sketchbook in his lap. He was sitting with his knees up, feet on the couch, eyes darting between a picture next to him and what he was drawing. 

“Morning,” Remus received as a response. He poured himself a cup of coffee and, a little uncomfortably, sat down on one end of the couch. “Had a good night?”

He felt his cheeks heat up immediately and Remus was sure he had turned a deep red when he tried to answer. “Uhh- Yeah? You.. You weren’t here when we got home, I think.” He was stammering a little, and the guy looked up from his sketchbook again with a grin. “Rodolphus, was it, right? Or- Augustus?”

“I was not, but you’re red as a cherry, not hard to guess.” Rodolphus answered, grinning when Remus only blushed deeper. “Rodolphus, yes. Gus is upstairs somewhere, I’m sure we’ll hear them arguing over the hot water anytime now. How did the shoot go? Cissa was excited over it.”

“She was?” That brought a smile to Remus’ lips despite his blush, and he took a sip of coffee before answering more. She’d been excited, that was good to know. “It went great! She’s— she’s incredible.” He stopped, realising that must’ve sounded over the top. “At modelling, I mean. She’s good.”

Rodolphus just smirked at him. 

Instead of being dragged into that conversation further, Remus leaned forward a little to peer at the sketchbook in the other guy’s lap, curiously. He was drawing the photograph he was studying, of a guy about their age rest his head against a pitch black horse’s forehead. “You’re good too,” he commented, a little shyly so. “Who’s the guy?”

He hadn’t even asked it before he realised it was likely Augustus, whoever that was. Remus could’ve slapped himself for the head but Rodolphus didn’t seem to mind, not much anyway. He grinned happier than before. “Gus, of course, with Mirabelle. Supposed to be working on a tattoo for him, but he’s more beautiful don’t you think?”

Remus wasn’t sure what to answer, but he chuckled more comfortably now. “He’s good-looking, yeah. Your boyfriend, right?” He was sure Narcissa mentioned the tattoos last night, but truth be told he was much more focused on the woman herself than what she’d been saying about her friends. “You’re designing him a tattoo?”

“He is,” Rodolphus answered, and there was some pride sparkling behind his eyes when he did, putting the pencil down on the couch. “And of course, who else?”

Remus had to admit, though not out loud, that he had done a remarkable job on the daffodils decorating Narcissa’s hips.

“That parlour of yours has got to be the best result of your father’s wish for you to stop drinking away your inheritance.”

Narcissa had come out of the hallway, dressed in a comfortable but still clearly well-made sundress: a deep purple that fell to just above her knees. Beside her was the man from the photograph, Augustus. It had been him who spoke.

Rodolphus laughed, closing the sketchbook. “You can find someone else to do it for you, then. See if I care.”

“You’d be choking on your jealousy the moment I book an appointment, love.”   
“You’re exaggerating.”   
“He’s really not.”

Remus watched the exchange between the three friends with an amused smile. He wondered for a moment how long Augustus had been a part of the little group, if Narcissa and Rodolphus had been friends for so long already. 

“Good morning, Remus, by the way. Sorry about them.” Narcissa then looked at him with a smile, her hair still slightly wet from her shower, and she made her way to the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee as well. 

On the couch, Rodolphus scoffed at her apology. “It’s as if you don’t love me, ma caille.”

“I might start loving you if you stop the pretentious french, darling,” Narcissa’s laugh could be heard clearly from the kitchen, and Augustus was chuckling along with her. Remus took a sip of his coffee, not feeling as uncomfortable as he’d feared surrounded by Narcissa and her friends. 

“Do you take regular photography jobs too, or is it just the models among us that have that privilege?”

Remus looked up surprised at Rodolphus’ question, and shook his head with a slight grin. “Open for anyone.” It wasn’t like he really had a choice in the matter, he thought to himself. Bills had to be paid, after all. He did love his photography work, but he would like to be able to be more selective in what he took on. “Why?”

“How do you feel about horses?”

Narcissa, who was walking back into the living room, burst out laughing. “Sorry, go on. You’re predictable, that’s all.” She gave by means of an explanation at the offended look her friend gave her. 

She sat down on the couch next to Remus, not as close as she could have, and held her mug in between her hands.

Narcissa looked as beautiful as she had during the shoot and as beautiful as she had looked last night, even just sitting in comfortable clothing and wet hair before her first sip of coffee in the morning. Remus couldn’t be happier that she didn’t mind his staring. 

“I’m fine with horses,” he started, unwillingly turning away from Narcissa to look at Rodolphus curiously. “You want to do a shoot, with horses?”

“Just one, really. You’re up for it?”

They discussed it some more and exchanged numbers, all the while Augustus was obviously trying very hard not to laugh while simultaneously trying to catch a look in the sketchbook that now lay abandoned on the couch.

Remus smiled when he caught Narcissa rolling her eyes at her friends. 

oOo

After breakfast and Remus getting dressed, he walked with her to the door. Narcissa leant against the doorway with a refilled mug in her hands and her hair in the same disarray as earlier.

She looked gorgeous to Remus. 

She smiled at him over the brim of her mug when she took a sip of coffee as she watched him put on his coat and check his bag, waiting patiently until he turned back to her. How someone as incredible as her could look at him like he was the night sky was beyond him, but Narcissa did. 

“I’d like to see you again, if that’s alright with you,” she told him, and Remus grinned in response. He’d love nothing more.

He approached her and, a little awkwardly with the way he had to keep holding onto his bag, pecked Narcissa’s lips with a coy smile. “I’d love that.”

When Remus stepped back he took better hold of his bag and swung it over his shoulder while she opened the front door for him. He kissed her again, lingering for a bit this time. “So, eh… I’ll work on the pictures, should have them sometime next week but I can always send you a few previews.. and, we’ll keep in touch?”

He realised that sounded too much like just business talk and went to correct himself, but Narcissa was shaking her head at him with laughter in her eyes and that was enough to make him realise it didn’t matter much. She could guess what he’d meant. 

“I’ll see you, Remus. This was wonderful.”

When he’d entered his uber it took him a while to be able to stop grinning to himself, regardless of how silly he felt like he was looking. Remus had been terribly excited about the project on itself already, but this really couldn’t have gone any better. 

A perfect start of his new project, a well-paying job from Rodolphus, and what seemed to Remus much more important at the moment: a girlfriend so enchanting he’d fallen for her much faster than he’d expected. 

Or perhaps he just hadn’t really realised it over the course of the past few weeks of talking to her. 

In any case, Remus couldn’t quite believe his luck. 


End file.
